On World Ocean Day Oceana Announces the "Top 13 Ways to Love Your Oceans"

Press Release Date

Today, Oceana is celebrating World Ocean Day by announcing the "Top 13 Ways to Love Your Oceans". The timing of this announcement also coincides with the debut screening of the anticipated blockbuster hit, Ocean's 13, starring A-list actors including George Clooney, Al Pacino and Brad Pitt.

"Before people race to the movie theatres tonight, we wanted to make sure they remember that today is World Ocean Day -- a day meant for celebrating the world's oceans and our personal connections to the sea," said Andrew Sharpless, CEO of Oceana.

World Ocean Day is a concept that was created in 1992 at the UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro as a way for organizations and individuals to come together and acknowledge the ocean's importance and engage in activities that help conserve this part of our natural world. Every year since then zoos, museums, conservation organizations and agencies have taken it upon themselves to celebrate the honorary day on June 8th in an unofficial capacity.

"Unfortunately, many people still don't realize how important our oceans are and how much they need their help and attention," said Mike Hirshfield, Oceana's Chief Scientist. "Scientists have projected that if the depletion of ocean species continues at current rates, our oceans could essentially be empty by the middle of the century -- widespread recognition of World Ocean Day is long overdue at a time when the health of our ocean is in danger."

While serious threats face our oceans, the Top 13 list provides easy steps that ocean lovers can take to help save our oceans. The list links people to educational resources such as the movie Happy Feet, and Oceana's own publications including its sustainable seafood pocket guide and the "Green List," a consumer guide for grocery stores around the country that are posting FDA warning signs about mercury next to its seafood counters. Individuals are also encouraged to become Oceana advocates and to join Oceana's online community of "WaveMakers."

"We created the Top 13 Ways to Love Your Oceans to provide a fun and easy way for people to help the oceans and honor World Ocean Day," said Maureen McGregor, Oceana's manager of e-Advocacy and Marketing. "Seeing Ocean's 13 might not have made our list of ways to love your oceans, but it's certainly not a bad way to spend a Friday night."

To view the full list of Oceana's Top 13 Ways to Love the Oceans, click here.

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